The Temptations (miniseries)
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| The Temptations | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Allan Arkush |
| Produced by | Jay Benson |
| Written by | Robert Johnson Kevin Arkadie |
| Starring | Charles Malik Whitfield D.B. Woodside Terron Brooks Christian Payton Leon Robinson |
| Music by | score by Smokey Robinson, songs by various |
| Distributed by | Hallmark Entertainment/Artisan Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | November 1, 1998 |
| Running time | 240 min. |
| Language | English |
The Temptations was a four-hour television miniseries broadcast in two-hour halves on NBC, based upon the history of one of Motown’s longest-lived acts, The Temptations. Executive produced by former Motown executive Suzanne De Passe, produced by Otis Williams and Temptations manager Shelley Berger, and based upon Williams’ Temptations autobiography, the miniseries was originally broadcast on November 1 and November 2, 1998. Allan Arkush was the miniseries’ director.
[edit] Overview
The miniseries starred Charles Malik Whitfield as Otis Williams, Leon Robinson as David Ruffin, D. B. Woodside as Melvin Franklin, Terron Brooks as Eddie Kendricks, and Christian Payton as Paul Williams. Also featured were Charles Ley as Dennis Edwards, J. August Richards as Richard Street, Obba Babatunde as Berry Gordy, Vanessa Bell Calloway as Johnnie Mae Matthews, and Mel Jackson as Norman Whitfield.
As the miniseries was based upon Otis Williams’ book, it came from his perspective: the focus of the story tended to be on Williams and his best friend Melvin Franklin, with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks seen as antagonists for much of the second half (although Kendricks was still given a more sympathetic portrayal than Ruffin - Kendricks was even shown scolding Ruffin and later joking with the other Temptations about Ruffin's chronic lateness when they were preparing for their reunion tour, only to be surprised when he showed up early). Dennis Edwards was not heavily focused upon, nor was much said of the problems he later had with Otis Williams. In fact, the voice-over narration that introduced Edwards flatteringly stated that Edwards was much less trouble than Ruffin had been, although his infamous angry reaction to the first verse of "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" was featured. Nevertheless, the miniseries gave a general overview of both the history of the group and that of Motown, and, thanks to De Passe’s connection, the film was able to use authentic props and locations.
A number of liberties were taken with factual events for dramatization purposes. For example, in the film, Melvin Franklin apparently dies in the kitchen of his mother’s house. In reality, he died in the hospital after a long bout with diabetes and other diseases. As Franklin’s death was still fresh in the minds of the miniseries’ creators (he died in 1995), it was decided that the miniseries would not present Franklin’s death as it actually occurred.
The miniseries was a ratings success, and Arkush won a 1998 Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Movie. The miniseries has been subsequently rerun on the VH-1 cable television network and released to VHS and DVD.
Otis Williams’ ex-wife Josephine, Melvin Franklin’s mother Rose Franklin, and, on David Ruffin’s behalf, the Ruffin family, filed suit against Williams, Motown, De Passe Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, and NBC for use of their likenesses in the film, defamation of character, and emotional distress because of the inaccurate depictions of events. They also alleged that the miniseries misportrayed them and/or their relatives and twisted facts. The judges ruled in favor of the defendants, and the ruling was upheld when the plaintiffs appealed in 2001. Otis Williams later claimed that while his book was the source material for the film, he did not have a great deal of control over how the material was presented.
On a sidenote, neither Eddie Kendricks' nor Paul Williams' family or relatives filed any lawsuit against Motown or Otis.
[edit] References
- Cheryl Ruffin-Steinback, et al. v. Suzanne De Passe, et al. Appeal filed Sept. 28, 2001 in United States court of Appeals. Text available here.
- “Drama vs. Reality.” Temptsinfo.com
